General20
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Is this years ACC the best non-Big East conference ever? Possibly. Louisville would have certainly been the 7th team in the sweet 16 had they not suspended themselves. Several Big East incarnations still beat this years ACC due to more elite teams at the top, but off the top of my head no other conference has ever had this kind of depth, talent, coaching. Definitely not the Pac-12, Big 12, or SEC. Maybe some Big 10 conference in the 80s? Can anybody think of one?
Why are all basketball television personalities so stupid? It shouldn't take more than a minute of research to learn that MTSU has nothing going for it except for three point shooting and Syracuse is the best in the country at guarding the three. This was about as easy a game to pick as you will ever get in the tournament, yet every "expert" before the game picked MTSU. Are they just too lazy to do that minute of research? What do they spend their days doing?
MTSU put up 91 against Michigan St. and 50 against us. If Syracuse wasn't coasting to the finish with a 20+ point lead they would have held MTSU to half the points they scored against Michigan St. or less. Upsets happen, but what happened to Michign St. shouldn't happen to good teams. Michigan St. really isn't that good. I'd argue that they had close to a 0% chance of making the final four even if they were given a 1 seed and everything broke their way. Yet something like 29 of the 30 ESPN "experts" had Michigan St. in the final four. Why are they so stupid?
For next year, or maybe even next week, when people complain about our zone - I'll bet anyone $1,000 that there are MULTIPLE posts on the Michigan St. forum right now calling Izzo an idiot for never playing zone. The truth is, when it comes to zone, man 2 man, press, etc. no style is better than any other style. They all have strengths and they all have weaknesses. Criticizing which D a team plays is like criticizing someone for choosing wrong in rock, paper, scissors. No matter which you pick there is something out there that can beat you and something out there you can beat. There is no magic bullet to be had. The key is learning how to communicate and recruit to what you want to do.
One of the best parts of watching college basketball is watching players develop and improve. Tyler Lydon had such a terrible first half that it was embarrassing. He could have reverted into his shell, which is something he has done in the past. Instead he came out aggressive. That is growth. Get excited for next year.
Roberson had 9 rebounds in under 30 minutes of game time. I still think the biggest predictor of whether Syracuse wins or loses is Roberson's rebound total. He looked incredibly focused and effective out there.
Roberson better be both focused and effective next week, because its going to get a lot harder for him. Gonzaga is no better than we are, actually they are worse, but just as MTSU was a perfect match up for us, we are a perfect match up for Gonzaga. Sabonis is better suited to exploit us than any player we have come up against all year, and they have Wiltjer too. If I was a betting man, I'd bet on Syracuse's run coming to an end against Gonzaga. But on a positive note, its not like Gonzaga is unbeatable, and if things go well for Syracuse and they come away with the upset win I like their chances against anyone in the elite 8, even Virginia.
Will this sweet 16 run pay dividends next year? I think so. Both Lydon and Richardson are going to be able to look back on positive performances, Howard seems to be getting better by the day, and Syracuse is going to have a lot more good press behind it now than it would have if we missed the tournament. As they say, perception is reality. I still firmly believe it helps you to be ranked high all year. Next year might be Boeheim's best chance at one last title. As fans we have to hope hard that everything breaks right. Selection Sunday and the last two games were the first thing to break right. Hopefully its a sign of things to come.
Making the sweet 16 in a year where we got historically heavy punishments from the NCAA is a hell of an accomplishment. We are very lucky to have the team we root for be so good.
Why are all basketball television personalities so stupid? It shouldn't take more than a minute of research to learn that MTSU has nothing going for it except for three point shooting and Syracuse is the best in the country at guarding the three. This was about as easy a game to pick as you will ever get in the tournament, yet every "expert" before the game picked MTSU. Are they just too lazy to do that minute of research? What do they spend their days doing?
MTSU put up 91 against Michigan St. and 50 against us. If Syracuse wasn't coasting to the finish with a 20+ point lead they would have held MTSU to half the points they scored against Michigan St. or less. Upsets happen, but what happened to Michign St. shouldn't happen to good teams. Michigan St. really isn't that good. I'd argue that they had close to a 0% chance of making the final four even if they were given a 1 seed and everything broke their way. Yet something like 29 of the 30 ESPN "experts" had Michigan St. in the final four. Why are they so stupid?
For next year, or maybe even next week, when people complain about our zone - I'll bet anyone $1,000 that there are MULTIPLE posts on the Michigan St. forum right now calling Izzo an idiot for never playing zone. The truth is, when it comes to zone, man 2 man, press, etc. no style is better than any other style. They all have strengths and they all have weaknesses. Criticizing which D a team plays is like criticizing someone for choosing wrong in rock, paper, scissors. No matter which you pick there is something out there that can beat you and something out there you can beat. There is no magic bullet to be had. The key is learning how to communicate and recruit to what you want to do.
One of the best parts of watching college basketball is watching players develop and improve. Tyler Lydon had such a terrible first half that it was embarrassing. He could have reverted into his shell, which is something he has done in the past. Instead he came out aggressive. That is growth. Get excited for next year.
Roberson had 9 rebounds in under 30 minutes of game time. I still think the biggest predictor of whether Syracuse wins or loses is Roberson's rebound total. He looked incredibly focused and effective out there.
Roberson better be both focused and effective next week, because its going to get a lot harder for him. Gonzaga is no better than we are, actually they are worse, but just as MTSU was a perfect match up for us, we are a perfect match up for Gonzaga. Sabonis is better suited to exploit us than any player we have come up against all year, and they have Wiltjer too. If I was a betting man, I'd bet on Syracuse's run coming to an end against Gonzaga. But on a positive note, its not like Gonzaga is unbeatable, and if things go well for Syracuse and they come away with the upset win I like their chances against anyone in the elite 8, even Virginia.
Will this sweet 16 run pay dividends next year? I think so. Both Lydon and Richardson are going to be able to look back on positive performances, Howard seems to be getting better by the day, and Syracuse is going to have a lot more good press behind it now than it would have if we missed the tournament. As they say, perception is reality. I still firmly believe it helps you to be ranked high all year. Next year might be Boeheim's best chance at one last title. As fans we have to hope hard that everything breaks right. Selection Sunday and the last two games were the first thing to break right. Hopefully its a sign of things to come.
Making the sweet 16 in a year where we got historically heavy punishments from the NCAA is a hell of an accomplishment. We are very lucky to have the team we root for be so good.
